Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has become the number 1 ranked bowler in the ICC Men’s T20I player rankings, achieving the landmark for the first time in his career. Chakaravarthy is also only the third ever Indian bowler to get to top the ICC’s bowling rankings, with pacer Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravi Bishnoi being the other two.

​”India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been rewarded for his consistent form in 2025 by becoming the No.1 ranked bowler on the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings,” the ICC said in a statement about crowing Chakaravarthy the number 1 bowler.

​Varun Chakravarthy T20I stats:

​Varun Chakaravarthy made his debut for India in T20 internationals against Sri Lanka in 2021. Since then, the mystery spinner has represented the nation in 20 matches and taken 35 wickets at an average of 14.54 and an economy rate of 6.83.

​The spinner has best figures of 5/17 against South Africa at the St. George’s Oval stadium.

​Chakaravarthy first caught the eyes of the Indian selectors after a spate of performances in the IPL. The spinner was also included in the Indian side for the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE, but he failed to replicate his IPL performances at the international level.

​The spinner was thereafter excluded from the Indian side, and he went back to the IPL, where he was among the leading wicket-takers in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

​Chakaravarthy made a comeback to the Indian side after Gautam Gambhir took over and played his first comeback match against Bangladesh in October 2024.

​Since then, the spinner has featured in the Indian team’s plans in not just T20I cricket but also the ODI format. In fact, Chakaravarthy was instrumental in the team’s success in the Champions Trophy earlier in the year, where he took 9 wickets in just 3 matches.

​Currently, Chakaravarthy is a part of the Indian team’s squad for the ongoing Asia Cup. In the two matches so far, Chakaravarthy has taken two wickets and managed to put the pressure on the opposition batters in the middle overs.